Of Ponds and Meadows
by parsnip
Summary: A collection of oneshots centered around Rin and Jaken for the LJ community iy no kakera. [Slumbering Secrets PG] JSesshoumaru returns from a night of scouting to discover his retainer and ward asleep.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **A Plague of Children  
**Written for:** Livejournal Communtiy iynokakera  
**Theme:** Set 1 – Theme #9 - Locust  
**Genres and Warnings:** Poor attempt at Humor, also a one dimensional Rin, sadly.  
**Word Count**: 514  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi, not I.**  
Summary: **Some people feared a plague of locusts, Jaken feared a plague of flowers, children, and above all, Rin.

**A Plague of Children**

There was a plague on his house and it wasn't locusts. At least, that's what Jaken thought as he ran around the meadow, attempting to keep his green self free of light, colorful, and most of all _smelly_ things.

"What did I do to deserve this!" he wailed, robes neatly hiked above his smooth, slimy skin. As the grass brushed against his poor flesh, he whimpered, thinking of how dried out his skin was getting from the endless running around in the foliage. He needed a nice long bath in a stagnant pond somewhere. A pond that didn't include happy young children, a plague on any toad's life!

He squawked as he tripped over a rock, nearly falling to his poor, abused knees before he righted himself. And he would have locusts there too. Lots of them. He wouldn't mind a couple of fat, juicy ones to fill his tummy as he sank his feet into the mud, enjoying the squishiness between his webbed toes. A smile nearly graced his pointed face as he wallowed in the image forming in his head.

But he was thwarted as his legs ceased running and a little girl younger then him by over a hundred years pounced, wrapping her arms around his neck in a strangle hold and turning him blue with lack of oxygen.

"Jaken-sama!" Rin cried, wringing his neck with bright, freshly twined flowers she had woven together into a wreath.

"You smell much better now," she smiled, stepping back to admire her handiwork before skipping away to whittle away her time with more nefarious plagues of flowers. She was grateful to have a companion to spend the time during Lord Sesshoumaru's frequent absences. No one else could play quite like him.

Jaken watched with bulging eyes as the girl-child left him in a dreadful state. How he wished she would notice his face breaking out into sores and the grasping of his tiny, bruised hands as they tore at the knots and the flowers, breaking the stems, sending more of that noxious scent straight to his poor nose. He wished the girl would stop tormenting him as he fell flat on his back, legs kicking in the air as he struggle for breath.

'_Death would be a fitting demise for this poor servant,' _he thought as his vision spotted at the fresh, clean scent that attacked him.

What he wouldn't give a nice mud bath shadowed in darkness. What he wouldn't give for a bevy of flies to slack his hunger. What he wouldn't give for Sesshoumaru-sama to punish the child for being cute and nearly killing his loyal servant!

Sniffling, as he held onto consciousness by a thread, he wondered just how much trouble he'd get into when the Lord returned from his wanderings to find his servant lying on the ground, covered in daises and seemingly asleep. A tear leaked from his eye as his hands ceased their motion, half of the petals torn from the wreath around his neck. His last thought was, _'What has Jaken done to deserve such mistreatment!'_


	2. Slumbering Secrets

**Title:** Slumbering Dawn  
**Theme:** 96-Secret  
**Genre:** PG  
**Word count:** 316  
**Warning:** Taken from Sesshoumaru's POV.  
**Summary:** Sesshoumaru returns from a night of scouting to discover his retainer and ward asleep.

**Slumbering Secrets  
**

The grey of the pre-dawn washed over the tiny encampment as a tall, lithe figure walked silently into the clearing. His white hair gleamed as the slow light of dawn reflected off droplets of dew covering everything. It had been a quiet night spent scouring the countryside and it was time to move on to the next checkpoint.

But, something held him back from waking the duo nestled on the forest floor.

One had cuddled up to the warm, although surely a little slimy, body of her companion, an arm thrown carelessly over his brown smock. The second, more smelly of the two was laying on his back, arms and legs akimbo as a tiny bit of drool collected at the corner of his mouth, a snore echoing quietly in the open air.

There was little to be desired looking at the two happily oblivious individuals. In fact, there was much to complain about since Jaken had been allocated guard duty to protect the frail body of the ningen child. Still, something just prevented the youkai from waking them, rudely or otherwise.

Perhaps it was the innocence of the two as each gleaned sanctuary from the chill of the night. Perhaps it was a distaste of hearing the kappa youkai squawk his apologies for sleeping on the job.

Or perhaps, just perhaps, it was because the often inscrutable taiyoukai couldn't decide how best to tell his loyal follower that the daisy chain clutched in his hands was falling apart, crushed during the night.

If he had been a youkai to acknowledge the cute, he almost would have smiled at the picture of happy friendship they poised because only once Rin passed into slumber would Jaken accept the gifts and endearments she so freely bestowed during the day. It was Jaken's tiny secret, his appreciation for Rin's little treasures, and one Sesshoumaru was unusually willing to allow.


End file.
